IPA Ignorance

Its not that the beer isnt overly hopped thus being bad for being subtle, its the problem that Guinness IPA tastes like salami.

 

Rolls eyes. This is a free website. Stop worrying about how beers "should" be reviewed. My .02

IMHO in today's day and age (not decades ago) a quality IPA showcases a raw hop bud, or combination of such at it's finest. Cheers!

 

I think that is the definitive answer. Now, what was the question........ Oh look, Two Hearted................................

 

I'd assume most guys/ gals who drink IPAs know the difference between an American IPA vs an English IPA. They're different, yep they are.

 

Ah you can't trust folks who call a mild beer bitter.

 

This. People on this site, I'd think for the most part, know the difference between an English and American IPA.

 

And I thought wine snobs were condescending and elitist...

 

I am growing weary of the notion that beers must fall into a style category and be rated within that category. With craft brewers being more and more creative (as we want them to be), they experiment between styles and blur the categorical lines. Flight of the Angry Beast is described by Clown Shoes as Barleywine Ale & Imperial Stout, but is categorized as an "American Strong Ale".

 

I grabbed this beer from a six pack at a liquor store in Louisiana. I have had English and American IPA's. I normally am not an individual who rates against a style, I rate the beer by how I like it. This beer didn't fare well. I thought it was a mess and ended up drain pouring it. Sorry if I offended you OP

 

Much to do about nothing pass me a blind pig please and a pint glass and all is right in the world. LOL

 

I prefer what are classified here as American IPA's, but have had English IPA's that were very good. Jaipur, Deuchars, and Proper Job are all very good IMO.

I don't think using the word "ignorance" when referring to other members of the community lends itself to constructive discussion .

I have no proof of this and others can contradict me if they wish, but my personal opinion is that if you cut your teeth on American IPA's, dialing it back to most of their English counterparts is a going to be a negative experience for most of those drinkers. I was drinking English IPA's first, so even though I prefer the American version by a fairly wide margin, I can still drink an English one without feeling let down, as I know what to expect. JMO.

 

I agree, and once again will advocate for a system categorizing only 14 different styles of beer.

 

Either you like the herbal rooty bitter of English hops in a not overpowering presentation, or you like full on presentation of citrus pith and pine, etc, of American hops in all their glorious variety. I like both takes when they are done well. Easy to see how many folks wouldn't, though.

 

Four would do it: dark, not-as-dark, hoppy, not-so-hoppy.

 

Goddammit.
I haven't tried it either.
What's there to be shocked about?

 

Well, the underlined statement in the quote might be going a bit too far. UK-brewed India pale ales were also being exported to the US by the 1840s and US brewers were brewing the style (which, like all other beer styles, both top- and bottom-fermented, brewed in the US at the time originated elsewhere) by the 1850s, which has continued to right up until today. For well over a century and a half there have been US IPAs, and many of those pre-Pro and post-Repeal US IPAs that predated the "craft era" were no doubt often brewed with domestic US grown hop varieties.

 

"IPAs are proof that God loves the British administrators in India and wants them to be happy." -- Benjamin Disraeli

 

It is indeed true that the beer we now refer to as the IPA beer style was not “invented” for export to India. But it was well known by the brewers of that time that beers that were heavily hopped would withstand export conditions (both time and rough handling during shipping) well. The beers that were exported to India (Pale Ale and Porter) were heavily hopped beers to better withstand the rigors of shipping.

Cheers!

 

Some interesting notes (I thought) from letters from Carl Jacobsen and JC Jacobsen from the year 1869:

Carl:
"So that I do not forget to do so once more, can I ask you to please examine the dry hops which are in the barrels you recieved from Bass. They are also in mild ale (at Evershed just under half a pound per barrel for mild ale, just under 1 pound for pale ale). It would be interesting to find out the approximate amount of hops and the quality if in all circumstances it is only English or if there is also continental hops therein. Also pay attention to how the yeast has settled in these hops."

JC:
"Most of the kinds of ale from Bass have, to my tastes, too much dry hopping. In some of the barrels there was an unreasonable amount of hops, especially so however in Export ale. Is it necessary for its keeping? Or is it merely a matter of taste? These hops are excellent, but not yet dry, so I have not weighed them."

JC:
"The weight of hops in the barrels from Bass were
1 barrel Export Ale - 345½ gram
1 barrel Strong Ale 243
1 barrel Pale Ale 170
½ barrel Mild Ale no. 4 70
½ barrel Mild Ale no. 5 50"

 

Rating aside, some form of style/categories should exist, for the simple fact that I want to have a rough idea of what I am drinking. An extreme example would be a beer labeled an "American IPA" that uses a lager yeast, is black in color, and has 15 IBUs (I'm not referencing a specific beer, this is hypothetical).

The nomenclature should give me some idea of what I am going to be tasting. Another less extreme example, is that if a beer is labeled a "pilsner" I like to see the brewer at least using Pils malt, and have at least part of the flavor profile reflecting the use of that ingredient. Otherwise, just label it a pale lager and call it a day.